


The Boy

by MichelleLynne



Series: The Winter Chronicles (Bucky Barnes) [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Natasha Is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 18:59:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9398621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MichelleLynne/pseuds/MichelleLynne
Summary: In the beginning, it took Hydra longer than it should have to figure out why they had to wipe and reprogram their Asset so often, especially when his missions had a 100% success rate.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by some beautiful Winter Soldier art that can be found [here](http://petiteallemande.tumblr.com/post/155056318557/bucky-digital-drawing).

In the beginning, it took Hydra longer than it should have to figure out why they had to wipe and reprogram their Asset so often, especially when his missions had a 100% success rate.

So naturally it took Natasha Romanoff all of 5 minutes to discover what had taken Zola and his minions months to figure out. She decided to use this knowledge now to try and raise Steve’s spirits as he stared dejectedly at the brief clip they’d caught of Bucky before he made himself once again a ghost.

“What if he just doesn’t want me to find him? To help him?”

Natasha sighed and placed the file she’d given him so many months ago in front of him, opened very strategically to the incident report on page 138. On it was a picture of Bucky, of _the Winter Soldier_ , holding a small child with a head of blonde hair in one arm and an automatic weapon in the other, pointing at what she knew from the report were multiple Hydra agents.

“Tell me Steve, what do you see?”

“The Winter Soldier, Poland, 1987,” Steve replied with nothing more than a glance at the page. He’d memorized the file within the first few hours of Natasha handing it to him.

“Good, you know it. Then you’ll know what this incident shares with so many others in this file,”

“They had to do intensive reconditioning afterward,” he grimaced as he said it.

“And why do you think that is?”

“Clearly you know something that I don’t,” he said as he looked at her expectantly. Natasha rolled her eyes at Steve’s refusal to see what was right in front of him.

“The boy,”

“The boy?” Steve asked, confused.

“You had to have noticed that each time they cited intensive reconditioning was needed that there was a small boy or a young man involved. Always blonde haired and blue eyed,”

“I don’t-” Steve started to protest, but he didn’t get far.

“This one stood out especially, do you know why?”

Steve shook his head.

“Because the Winter Soldier stopped in the middle of his mission to stop this boy, this blonde haired, blue eyed boy from being beat up by a group of older, larger boys. The Winter Soldier scared off those boys and carried the blonde home, killing a few agents who tried to stop him,”

“It’s a coincidence,”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself, Rogers? All I’m saying is, for 50 years the Winter Soldier was a ghost. Hell, even after he shot me, there was no trace of him. Do you really think he’d let himself be seen so easily? Bucky _knows_ that you’ll follow him to the ends of the earth Steve. He’s letting you know that he’s safe. He _wants_  you to know,”

“How can you be so sure?” he asked and while Natasha could still see the uncertainty in his eyes, she once again saw that spark of hope.

“Because it’s always been you, Rogers, even Hydra could see it,”

**Author's Note:**

> FYI, cross-posting this from my [Tumblr](http://thebabewiththepwr.tumblr.com/post/156098306342/angryschnauzer-petiteallemande-bucky).


End file.
